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Saab’s partnership with Chinese automaker Hawtai is already bringing about some changes in the Swedish brand’s operations. Go Auto reports that the Saab 9-3, otherwise known as Concept Phoenix, will be produced in China. Having loaned 150 million Euros to Saab, Hawtai’s investment in the company grants it 29.9 percent of the Swedish brand. While Hawtai’s stake in Saab gives it substantial influence, Saab says production in China will only be for Chinese consumption and the vehicles will still wear Saab badges.

The Beijing-based automaker has wasted no time in negotiating the manufacture of the next-gen Saab 9-3 at its plant in China starting in 2013. Following this, Hawtai is expected to produce the “baby Saab” 9-2 range, which Saab hopes to build on a platform shared with another automaker. Just as with the 9-3, Saab says it will not be exporting the locally-built 9-2 from China to other markets. Since the 9-4X and 9-5 are underpinned by a GM platform, intellectual property laws will prevent either from being produced in China anytime soon. However, production of the next generation of 9-5 and 9-4X in China is possible, since those vehicles are expected to be based on Saab’s own Phoenix platform.

Go Auto’s source, Managing Director of Saab Australia Stephen Nicholls, says the loan from Hawtai along with another from finance company Gemini will allow Saab to resume production at its plant in Trollhattan as early as next week. The deal first must be approved by the Chinese government as well as the European Investment Bank (EIB), a weeks-long process, but Nicholls says that the loans will secure Saab’s future in the long term.